Chapter 145: CH 145

“What’s wrong?”

“N-no, nothing. I was just surprised. Y-you have over 5,000 gem points?”

“I have about 10,000 gem points….”

“What… 10,000?”

Ellen looked dumbfounded after hearing such an unexpected response. Since each fish dropped one gem point once caught, a simple calculation meant that Merlin had caught 10,000 gem fish. Of course, there was a mission prior to the fishing event, but no matter how well someone did, they probably wouldn’t make over 500 gem points. So, Ellen wondered how Merlin acquired such a massive amount.

“Who are you? Did you gather all these gem points from your guild members or something?”

“No. You can say the hunting field was… right up my alley, attribute-wise.”

“…?”

Ellen couldn’t understand Merlin’s words, but she soon gave up and put her hand atop the book.

Woong!

Along with a deep ringing sound, the Crow shuttle disappeared and was replaced by a new model. The new flying shuttle looked just like a….

“A s-spaceship?”

“Yeah. This flying shuttle, Blue Beetle Type A, is equipped with an Ion engine! It’s difficult to fly in the atmosphere, but it’ll allow one passenger to travel in space. In addition, it has a built-in magic stone that can charge its own magic power, so you don’t have to worry about fuel if you’re mindful of your speed. In addition, it’s being offered at an amazing price of only 5,400 gem points! This may seem like a hefty charge, but this flying shuttle is strong enough to withstand any impact and has a cannon that can shoot ten-cm rounds, allowing it to battle in the air. It can’t directly take off and fly to space in one go, but it’s possible to enter the outer atmosphere.”

“…”

Merlin was at a loss for words. Of course, DIO was a game, so fantasy and anything sci-fi were possible. However, with his AA Rank Enhanced Eyesight, Merlin saw through the Blue Beetle Type A’s security and examined the shuttle’s inner workings and operation principles. The tech within the flying shuttle was not something that could be easily comprehended.

‘A plasma cannon on top of having an ion engine….’

Of course, Merlin had never seen something like this before. Naturally, this was because the technology wasn’t yet developed on Earth. However, after Merlin figured out the internal structure of the Blue Beetle Type A, he formulated a working principle and theory in his head to see if it was possible to recreate the tech. Merlin concluded,

‘This technology can be used in reality.’

This technology didn’t exist yet, but its theoretical principles were established on a solid foundation; Merlin could only conclude that the tech was beyond that of modern [Civilization]. If the technology applied to this flying shuttle entered modern science, human science would jump forward by more than a few decades.

‘What should I do?’

However, once Merlin mulled over this question for a moment, he realized that there wasn’t anything he could particularly do. Merlin wasn’t a government employee, nor was he conscientious enough to contribute to the development of modern technology. Besides, how would he convey what he saw through his Enhanced Eyesight to those in reality? DIO’s screenshots only took a photo of the flying shuttle’s exterior; they did not account for Merlin’s Enhanced Eyesight. So, to convey the shuttle’s internal structure and tech, Merlin needed to understand the structure and then explain the theory or draw a blueprint, which would be very difficult and cumbersome. Moreover, even if Merlin did all this, he’d only be scratching the surface of the tech, as it required a deep foundation to be adequately comprehended.

‘Eh, whatever. Any group as large as a country could probably get the information if they really sought it. I’m probably the only individual with this many gem points, but if the users worked as a group and concentrated all their gem points on one person, they could easily gather 5,000 gem points.’

However, Merlin didn’t know he was the only user with Master-ranked Enhanced Eyesight. Obviously, it was possible for users to amass 5,000 gem points as a group, but even if they purchased this Level 5 flying shuttle, they’d had to break it down, which wasn’t simple in and of itself due to the shuttle’s robust security system. Then, if this were done, they would need to comprehend the shuttle’s undiscovered science and magic system. Furthermore, the flying shuttle was made of a material that could change into any form with any property: the Anyform Stone.

Additionally, any part of the flying shuttle that detached from the main body would soon disintegrate and be unusable. Furthermore, if someone tore away the body to view the internals of the flying shuttle, they would only see a mess of zigzagging Anyform Stones. Though the flying shuttle looked like a modern-day spaceship, it was closer to being a spirit-based object than a physical one.

It was like… the seemingly divine bodies that the users possessed….

“You said this was Level 5, right?”

“Hmm? Ah, yes. It’s a Level 5 flying shuttle.”

“Then, is there a Level 6 flying shuttle?”

Since a Level 5 flying shuttle could fly in outer space, logically speaking, the next progression would be a flying shuttle with Warp Drive, something that would allow the vessel to move quickly between solar systems. Unfortunately, Ellen shook her head.

“There are ten different flying shuttles, but Level 5 is the max. However, there’s one ship that’s a step above the Blue Beetle Type A - the Blue Beetle Type B. You have the requisite gem points, so shall we have a look?”

Flip.

When Ellen flipped to the next chapter of the book, Merlin saw a traditional saucer-shaped UFO flying shuttle, or, to be more precise, a space-traveling shuttle.

“This flying shuttle possesses an anti-gravity system. Unlike the Type A, this shuttle can travel both within an atmosphere and in outer space. The only downfall is that its defensive capabilities are limited, and it’s a bit slow, but it can be upgraded.”

After saying this, Ellen waved her hand in the air and brought up the Type B’s blueprint. Of course, the basic blueprint didn’t release or show any of the shuttle’s secret mechanisms.

“Let’s see, the Blue Beetle’s outer armor is mainly made of a Selium alloy. Shall we look at some samples?”

Ellen waved her hand again and brought up a ten by ten cm metal material before Merlin.

“Wow. It’s quite tough. Do I know of this material?”

“It’s an alloy that’s made from various metals, but most of the metals don’t exist on Earth. The alloy is astonishingly strong yet elastic; it’s an alloy that was often used in Noah.”

Merlin recalled what he had once heard at the Exchange Center. Noah was one of the SF-like futuristic cities that was being marketed as a tourist destination. It was supposedly a place where humans fought against otherworldly monsters. If it was such a fantastical world as Noah, Merlin could understand how they’d possess such a futuristic alloy. And as he thought this, Merlin asked, “You said ‘was used often.’ Does that mean it’s no longer being used?”

“Oh, a sharp observation. Yes, you’re right. The alloy possesses a critical weakness.”

“A weakness….”

Merlin turned his attention to the sample in front of him. It was impossible to guess what metals went into the alloy, as that would require a great deal of knowledge about metals. Still, Merlin easily recognized the alloy’s critical weakness. Rather than relying on a vast amount of knowledge, Merlin utilized his Aura Vision to see the alloy’s aura.

Crack!

When Merlin imbued his Penetration Power into the sample material, it started cracking. Merlin then stated, “Magic resistance.”

“Right you are. Wow, impressive.”

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Unexpectedly, once the Selium alloy was created, it lost the magic resistance of the metals that comprised it. Instead, the new alloy’s magic resistance was lower than even iron or aluminum.

“I see. The sixth chapter of the book details a menu of upgrades rather than a Level 6 flying shuttle.”

“Correct again. For example, you have the option to imbue the Selium with additional magic resistance stats.”

“Does that mean the Selium alloy’s properties will change?”

Merlin was surprised by this possibility. After all, didn’t this mean that there was essentially no difference between using Selium and the rare metal mithril? Yet, Ellen shook her head.

“I think you’ve misunderstood something. The flying shuttle’s armor isn’t made of Selium alloy. The properties and appearance of Selium alloy have been imbued into Anyform Stone; hence, the Anyform Stone can be imbued with any existing metal or metal alloy.”

“It can even become Adamantium?”

“Of course. However, if you fully convert all the Blue Beetle’s armor into Adamantium… let’s see… you’ll need 24,000 gem points. Moreover, this price is just for the upgrade.”

“…”

It was an extraordinary sum of gem points. Even Merlin couldn’t obtain such a vast number of gem points, and he’d killed a colossal portion of the entire fish population. Of course, the fishing event had three waves, so there were still two more opportunities for Merlin to collect more gem points, but even so, 24,000 was a steep number.

“As I said, Chapter 6 contains a list of upgrades. The possibilities are virtually endless. You can make the material stronger or even give it additional resistance properties. You can also raise its magic resistance or the capacity of the flying shuttle’s magic power tank.”

“What’s on Chapter 7?”

Merlin recalled that the book was divided into seven chapters.

“After purchases are upgrades, so what would come after?”

“… Production?”

“Similar. Designing.”

Whoosh.

When Ellen flipped to the next chapter, the Blue Beetle Type B instantly disappeared. Rather than another flying shuttle, a translucent light circular marble appeared.

“Then, I can make something from scratch?”

“Well, I guess that’s an option, but it wouldn’t be possible to just spit out a complete design, right? The process would most likely start by combining existing features from each of the available flying shuttle models. You can even create a completely new outer design, which would be a popular option for the many artistic users.”

After listening to the explanation, Merlin placed his hand atop the circular marble. When he imagined a circle, one appeared in the air. When Merlin imagined an eraser deleting a certain part of the circle, the circle before him reflected these changes.

“Wow! You’re incredibly adaptable! Are you a mage specializing in illusions?”

“Not necessarily, but I am a mage.”

“Obviously. I can tell just by looking at you.”

Like always, Merlin was wearing his red robe and a wide-brimmed hat. Despite his tall height, Merlin’s body was well proportioned and balanced; thus, rather than looking overly big on him, the wide-brimmed mage hat made Merlin look powerful. Instead of a traditional mage’s aura, Merlin seemed more like what was popularly called a Battle Mage.

‘Design….’

Merlin recalled the driving mechanisms of the flying shuttles he had previously seen. Then, he fell into thought. Ellen mentioned that it was possible to create a flying shuttle from scratch. Since that was the case-

“Master!”

“Ack! What the hell?”

“Yes, customer?”

“Oh, no, nothing. I just received a sudden whisper message….”

After responding to Ellen, Merlin focused on sending a spirit message to his pet, Quiet Heaven.

“What’s going on?”

“The atmosphere here is getting weird. It seems like that Great Will or whatever is about to appear.”

“Eh? That’s sooner than I expected. Well, alright. Give me a moment.”

Then, Merlin turned to Ellen with an apologetic expression.

“Ah! I’m so sorry, but I’ll have to come back and finish this later.”

“That’s fine. I’ve finished explaining everything, so you’ll just need to purchase what you want.”

Click!

When they stepped across the door’s threshold, they were brought back to the Exchange Center.

“I’ll come back later!”

“Fine. Make sure to think about what you’d like to purchase in the meantime!”

After hearing Ellen’s parting words, Merlin rushed upstairs to purchase about five to six Gate Rings before leaving the Exchange Center and Starting altogether. Merlin wanted to go straight to the Holy Shrine from Starting, but since the Gate Ring recorded the coordinates of the last city the user had visited, he had to first move outside the city limits.

“Ugh, so cumbersome. I’ll need to learn teleportation or something.”

For someone who couldn’t even do the basics of coordinate mapping and calculations, Merlin was unlikely to learn teleportation, as it was often called the pinnacle spell of coordinate mapping. And so, as he grumbled, Merlin sprinted away.

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